Sealable container system with lid clips and body divots

ABSTRACT

A sealable container system contains a body and a lid assembly. The body includes an internal volume defined by bottom and side wall(s) and divot(s) with a cavity in an inside surface of the side wall. The lid assembly includes clips(s) and a lid with outer and inner walls at its bottom side with a channel in-between. A wall portion of a gasket reside within the channel and a lip resides outside the channel. When the lid assembly is pressed into the body, the gasket lip abuts the divots and forms a gap with the side wall, where air in the internal volume exits through the gap. When the lip travels past the divots, the lip fully seats against the side wall, imparting negative air pressure to the internal volume of the body, and the clip(s) apply pressure to the side wall(s) of the body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Food containers for home use that provide for a negative air pressure (relative to ambient air pressure) are known in the prior art, and typically employ a complicated one-way valve on a lid or some other valve, nozzle, or air-pump mechanism. Such mechanisms are necessarily opaque in many cases, which hinders the view of food items that may be contained in such containers. Also, such mechanisms add to the cost of such products, and complicate their operation. Many of these containers fail to provide a strong negative-pressure seal when closed and/or will leak when upended.

Further, many such prior art containers are necessarily circular in plan view so that pressure is evenly distributed around the rim of the container and the lid. This is necessary with many prior art devices due to the valve mechanism or sealing mechanism utilized with such devices. With these prior art mechanisms, a square or rectangular container that has a seal having a point or radiused corner does not properly function to maintain a negative air pressure within the container.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein is a sealable container system as specified in the independent claims. Embodiments of the present invention are given in the dependent claims. Embodiments of the present invention can be freely combined with each other if they are not mutually exclusive.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a sealable container system includes a body and a lid assembly. The body includes an open top end, a closed bottom end, and at least one side wall with an outside surface and an inside surface. The closed bottom end and the at least one side wall define an internal volume in the body. The body further includes a lip of the body that includes a bottom side and resides at an upper edge of the at least one side wall proximate to the open top end and protruding outward away from the body. The body further includes one or more divots that includes a cavity residing at the upper edge of the at least one side wall proximate to the open top end and in the inside surface of the at least one side wall. The lid assembly includes a lid that includes a top side, a bottom side opposite the top side, and a lip of the lid residing at an outer edge of the lid and projecting downward. The lid assembly further includes an outer wall and an inner wall residing at the bottom side and projecting downward from the bottom side. A channel exists between the outer wall and the inner wall. The lid assembly further includes one or more clips and a gasket. Each clip resides on an inner surface of the lip of the lid and protrudes toward the outer wall. The gasket includes a wall portion and a lip of the gasket. When the gasket engages the lid, the wall portion resides within the channel and the lip of the gasket resides outside the channel. When the lid assembly is pressed into the open end of the body, the lip of the gasket abuts the one or more divots and forms a gap between the lip of the gasket and the inside surface of the at least one side wall, where air in the internal volume exits through the gap. When the lip of the gasket travels past the one or more divots, the lip of the gasket fully seats against the inside surface of the at least one side wall, where negative air pressure is imparted to the internal volume of the body. When the lid assembly continues to be pressed into the open end of the body once the lip of the gasket travels past the one or more divots, the one or more clips engage the bottom side of the lip of the body and the outside surface of the at least one side wall of the body.

In one embodiment of the present invention, when the one or more clips engage the outside surface of the at least one side wall of the body, the one or more clips apply pressure to the at least one side wall of the body.

In one embodiment of the present invention, when the lid assembly is pulled away from the body, the lip of the gasket abuts the one or more divots and reforms the gap, wherein air is allowed to enter the internal volume through the gap.

In one embodiment of the present invention, when the lid assembly is pulled away from the body, the one or more clips disengages from the lip of the body and the outside surface of the at least one side wall of the body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE FIGURES

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a top perspective view and a bottom perspective view, respectively, of the sealable container system according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a top perspective view and a bottom perspective view, respectively, of the body of the sealable container system according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the body of the sealable container system according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a close-up perspective view of the divot according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 7-8 illustrate a top exploded perspective view and a bottom exploded perspective view, respectively, of the lid assembly according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a side view of the lid assembly according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates a perspective view of the lid assembly according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates a close-up perspective view of the lid assembly according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates a close-up cross-sectional view of the clip in the lid assembly according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the sealable container system in a closed position according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates a close-up cross-sectional view of the lid assembly in a closed position according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a close-up cross-sectional view of the lid assembly in an open position according to the exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the present invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “an exemplary embodiment”, or “a preferred embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments. In general, features described in one embodiment might be suitable for use in other embodiments as would be apparent to those skilled in the art.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a top perspective view and a bottom perspective view, respectively, of the sealable container system according to an exemplary embodiment. The sealable container system 100 includes a body 102 and a lid assembly 101.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a top perspective view and a bottom perspective view, respectively, of the body of the sealable container system according to the exemplary embodiment. The body 102 includes an open top end, a closed bottom end 116, and at least one side wall 103. The bottom end 116 and the side walls 103 define an internal volume in the body 102. The side walls 103 include one or more divots 104 residing in the upper edges of the side walls 103 proximate to the open top end and in the inside surfaces of the side walls 103. A lip 118 resides in the upper edges of the side walls 103 of the body proximate to the open top end.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the body of the sealable container system according to the exemplary embodiment. The body 102 includes one or more divots 104. Each divot 104 is composed of a cavity in the inside surface of the side wall 103 and resides in the upper edges of the side walls 103 proximate to the open top end. Each divot 104 is able to engage the gasket 106 of the lid assembly as described further below. The body 102 further includes a lip 118 residing in the upper edges of the side walls 103 proximate to the open top end and protruding outward away from the body 102. FIG. 6 illustrates a close-up perspective view of the divot according to the exemplary embodiment. Each divot 104 is composed of a cavity in the upper edge and the inside surface of the side walls 103.

FIGS. 7-8 illustrate a top exploded perspective view and a bottom exploded perspective view, respectively, of the lid assembly according to the exemplary embodiment. The lid assembly 101 includes a lid 105 and an elastomeric gasket 106. The lid 105 includes a top side 107 a and a bottom side 107 b opposite the top side 107 a, with a first wall 108 and a second wall 109 residing at the bottom side 107 b and projecting downward (toward the D direction) from the bottom side 107 b. A lip 117 resides at the outer edge of the lid 105 and projects downward (toward the D direction). A plurality of clips 111 resides on an inner surface of the lip 117 and protrudes toward the first wall 108. The clips 111 are able to engage the lip 118 of the body 102, as described below. The first 108 and second 109 walls reside at the bottom side 107 b such that a channel 110 exists between the first 108 and second 109 walls. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the gasket 106 includes a wall portion 120 and a lip 115 at the outer edges of the gasket 106. When engaged with the lid 105, the wall portion 120 of the gasket 106 resides within the channel 110 of the lid 105, while the lip 115 of the gasket 106 resides outside of the channel 110. The lip 115 is configured for resilient deformation, as described further below.

FIG. 9 illustrates a side view of the lid assembly according to the exemplary embodiment. When the wall portion 120 of the gasket resides in the channel 110 (not visible), the lip 115 of the gasket 106 is visible in the side view as the lip 115 resides outside of the channel 110.

FIG. 10 illustrates a perspective view of the lid assembly according to the exemplary embodiment. The lid assembly 101 includes the lip 117 residing at the outer edge of the lid 105 and projecting downward (toward the D direction). One or more clips 111 reside on an inner surface of the lip 117. In the exemplary embodiment, one or more clips 111 reside on each side of the lip 117, however, one or more clips 111 may reside on less than all sides without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. FIG. 11 illustrates a close-up perspective view of the lid assembly according to the exemplary embodiment. FIG. 12 illustrates a close-up cross-sectional view of the clip in the lid assembly according to the exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the lid assembly 101 includes the lip 117 projected downward (toward the D direction) from the outer edge of the lid 105. Each clip 111 resides on an inner surface of the lip 117 and protrudes toward the first wall 108. Although the clip 111 is illustrated as residing at the outer edge of the lip 117, the clip 111 may reside elsewhere on the inner surface of the lip 117. Each clip 111 is capable of engaging the lip 118 residing at the upper edges of the side walls 103 of the body 102, as described further below. In the exemplary embodiment, the clip 111 includes a first beveled surface 111 a and a second beveled surface 111 b for engaging the lip 118, as described further below. The beveled surfaces 111 a-111 b of the clip 111 further allows a smoother travel of the clip 111 past the lip 118 of the body 102 when the lid assembly 101 is pressed into the open end of the body 102 or when the lid assembly 101 is removed from the body 102. Although the clip 111 of the exemplary embodiment is illustrated with the beveled surfaces 111 a-111 b, a clip 111 without the first 111 a and/or the second 111 b beveled surfaces can also be used. Other shapes of the clip 111 may also be used to facilitate engagement with the lip 118 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the sealable container system in a closed position according to the exemplary embodiment. When the lid assembly 101 engages the body 102 in a closed position, the lip 115 of the gasket 106 fully seats against the inside surface of the side walls 103 of the body 102. Once the gasket 106 is fully seated against the inside surface of the side walls 103, and the lid assembly 101 is further pressed into the open end of the body 102, the first beveled surface 111 a (not visible) of each clip 111 of the lid 105 engages the bottom side of the lip 118. When engaged in this manner, each clip 111 applies pressure to the outside surface of the side walls 103 at or near the lip 118 of the body 102.

FIG. 14 illustrates a close-up cross-sectional view of the lid assembly in a closed position according to the exemplary embodiment. As the lid assembly 101 is pressed into the open end of the body 102 (toward the D direction), the lip 115 of the gasket 106 abuts the divot 104, and the divot 104 forms a gap between the lip 115 and the inside surfaces of the side walls 103. This allows air in the internal volume of the body 102, that is displaced due to the pressing of the lid assembly 101, to exit through the gap. When the lip 115 travels past the divot 104, no amount of the lip 115 resides within or abuts the divot 104, and the lip 115 fully seats against the inside surface of the side wall 103, imparting negative air pressure to the internal volume of the body 102. Further, as the lid assembly 101 is pressed into the open end of the body 102, the second beveled surface 111 b of the clip 111 engages and the lip 118 of the body. When fully seated, the second beveled surface 111 b of the clip 111 travels past the lip 118 of the body 102, and the first beveled surface 111 a of the clip 111 engages the bottom of the lip 118 of body 102 and applies inward pressure to the side wall 103. When contents reside in the internal volume of the body 102, outward pressure from the contents may cause the side wall 103 to bow or slant outward. The engagement with the bottom of the lip 118 and the pressure applied to the side wall 103 by the clip 111 assists in preventing partial or full disengagement of the lip 115 of the gasket 106 from the inside surface of the side wall 103. The engagement of the clip 111 with the lip 118 and the side wall 103 thus assists in preventing leakage of the contents in the internal volume of the body 102 when the lid assembly 101 is in the closed position.

FIG. 15 illustrates a close-up cross-sectional view of the lid assembly in an open position according to the exemplary embodiment. To remove the lid assembly 101 from the body 102, the lid assembly 101 is pulled away from the body 102 (toward the C direction) to disengage one or more clips 111 from the lip 118 of the body 102 and to sufficiently overcome the negative air pressure imparted to the internal volume of the body 102. As the lid assembly 101 is pulled (toward the C direction), the first beveled surface 111 a of one or more of the clips 111 travel past the lip 118 of the body 102 until the clip(s) 111 disengage from the body 102. Further, as the lid assembly 101 is pulled, the lip 115 of at least part of the gasket 106 abuts one or more of the divots 104, reforming the gap. This allows air to enter the internal volume of the body 102 through the gap and releases the negative air pressure within the body 102. The remainder of the clips 111 are then also disengaged from the lip 118 of the body 102, and the entire lid assembly 101 can be removed from the body 102.

Although the body 102 in the exemplary embodiment is disclosed above with a rectangular shape, the body 102 may alternatively have a non-rectangular shape (e.g. circular shape), without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Similarly, the lid assembly 101 may have an alternative shape to match the shape of the body 102.

Although the present invention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments and those variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A sealable container system, comprising: a body, comprising: an open top end; a closed bottom end; at least one side wall with an outside surface and an inside surface, wherein the closed bottom end and the at least one side wall define an internal volume in the body; a lip of the body comprising a bottom side and residing at an upper edge of the at least one side wall proximate to the open top end and protruding outward away from the body; and one or more divots comprising a cavity residing at the upper edge of the at least one side wall proximate to the open top end and in the inside surface of the at least one side wall; and a lid assembly, comprising: a lid, comprising a top side, a bottom side opposite the top side, and a lip of the lid residing at an outer edge of the lid and projecting downward; an outer wall and an inner wall residing at the bottom side and projecting downward from the bottom side; a channel between the outer wall and the inner wall; one or more clips, each clip residing on an inner surface of the lip of the lid and protruding toward the outer wall; and a gasket, comprising a wall portion and a lip of the gasket, wherein when the gasket engages the lid, the wall portion resides within the channel and the lip of the gasket resides outside the channel, wherein when the lid assembly is pressed into the open end of the body, the lip of the gasket abuts the one or more divots and forms a gap between the lip of the gasket and the inside surface of the at least one side wall, wherein air in the internal volume exits through the gap, wherein when the lip of the gasket travels past the one or more divots, the lip of the gasket fully seats against the inside surface of the at least one side wall, wherein negative air pressure is imparted to the internal volume of the body, wherein when the lid assembly continues to be pressed into the open end of the body once the lip of the gasket travels past the one or more divots, the one or more clips engage the bottom side of the lip of the body and the outside surface of the at least one side wall of the body.
 2. The sealable container system of claim 1, wherein when the one or more clips engage the outside surface of the at least one side wall of the body, the one or more clips apply pressure to the at least one side wall of the body.
 3. The sealable container system of claim 1, wherein when the lid assembly is pulled away from the body, the lip of the gasket abuts the one or more divots and reforms the gap, wherein air is allowed to enter the internal volume through the gap.
 4. The sealable container system of claim 1, wherein when the lid assembly is pulled away from the body, the one or more clips disengages from the lip of the body and the outside surface of the at least one side wall of the body. 